SACRAMENTO -- The sixth consecutive USA 10,000-meter title that Galen Rupp earned last night in Hornet Stadium is remarkable.

In a sport in which competing at the top level takes a demanding combination of talent, drive and health, Rupp has continued to be the country's best male distance runner for a very long time.

OK, the Nike Oregon Project star hasn't beaten Bernard Lagat very often in the 5,000. But his U.S primacy at 10,000 -- the event at which he holds the U.S. record -- is unchallenged and amazing.

Since finishing second to Abdi Abdirahman in the 2008 Olympic Trials, Rupp has shown up for this meet every year and won every time.

"I think consistency in training is the biggest reason I'm at where I'm at today," Ruppp said after last night's race, deflecting some of the praise to Oregon Project coach Alberto Salazar.

"Alberto has talked about a long-term plan. His gradual progression in training -- not building my mileage up too early in my career, not giving me workouts too intensive early on in my career, and constantly building on it year after year, has been tremendous."

It took some vision and a willingness to eschew short-term gains while keeping the big picture in mind.

"Maybe trying to push the envelope and doing more mileage, doing harder workouts all at once might give you a bigger reward if you can get through it," Rupp said. "But if you can get through it is the caveat. We've always tried to weigh the risk and rewards of doing more.

"We've always tried to be really smart with training, not pushing too much at times. Obviously there are certain instances where (Salazar) will let us go, but he definitely tries to hold us back at the appropriate times. That's the art of coaching and doing what he does -- knowing when to push and when to hold us back."